Your Values and Your Habits

Are you living in alignment with the person you want to be? 

In other words, do your habits and behaviors match your values?  We all have values in life.  These are our internal beliefs about how we want to live.  They can get hidden, pushed down and altogether forgotten about in our busy, often chaotic lives.  Bringing them into awareness helps you make choices based on what is important to you.   But first– you have to know what is important to you.

The clearer you are about your values, the less confusing it is to make decisions and the more natural it feels to make the changes in your life that you want to make.  Knowing your values gives you a reason, a motivation and a road map to live your life the way you envision.  When your actions aren’t in accordance with your core values, there is a sense of disconnect and your life feels out of balance.

Health is (of course!) one of my values.  So are:  joy, love, peace, patience, gratitude and kindness (just to name a few).  These are all things that are important to me and so I practice making them the building blocks of my world.  Health– staying physically and mentally as strong as I can as I age, is a huge one for me.  I want to prevent injuries, go out and run on the trails, maintain my strength and my independence, and keep my brain functioning for as long as possible.  Because these things are so meaningful to me, I work hard at balancing my life to prioritize eating and exercising in ways that feel good to me.  And when I eat too many of the wrong things for my body or don’t run or stretch for too many days, I feel off-balance and unhappy.  Health as a core value redirects me right back into the habits that help promote who I truly want to be.

Health is likely a value to you too, if you’re reading this!  Acknowledge that and own it– and take a look at your other values and notice how they connect with your health goals.  If kindness and love are your values, is your self-talk reflecting that?  Are you honoring and respecting your appetite?  How about joy– are you allowing yourself to enjoy the foods that bring you pleasure?  Patience and peace– do you slow down, connect with your body and trust that health is an ongoing journey?  Gratitude– can you feel thankful for all the wonderful things about your life? 

So much to ponder, but as 2020 winds down, think about your values and ask yourself if they are guiding you. Be aware of the difference between listening to your own heart versus voices of others saying you should do this or that.  Pay attention to what is truly important to you and let 2021 head into a new direction if you need it to.